In Iowa State’s season-opening 95-62 win against UNC Wilmington, DeAndre Kane nearly had a double-double in the first half (11 points, 9 rebounds) — he probably could have had a triple-double if Iowa State didn’t take their foot off the pedal — en route to a 13 point, 11 rebound effort, and seven assist effort.

Sophomore guard Naz Long, who seldom played last year in more of a reserve role, poured in 26 points on 8-11 shooting from distance.

Last season, there weren’t many offenses that were as prolific and fun to watch as Iowa State. Fred Hoiberg’s up-tempo, three-happy offense averaged 79.6 ppg and took the Cyclones to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament where they nearly upset Ohio State. They lost the nucleus of that offense with Will Clyburn, Korie Lucious, and Tyrus McGee among others no longer on the roster, and there were questions if the offensive success could be duplicated.

One of the biggest offseason additions for any team occurred when DeAndre Kane, a transfer from Marshall, elected to spend his final year of eligibility at Iowa State. As a junior at Marshall, Kane averaged a shade over 15 points to go along with 4.4 rebounds.

Kane won’t fill it up from the perimeter like his predecessors did, but he adds another dynamic to Iowa State’s offense and can play multiple positions. The term “glue guy” is one that is overused and becoming a cliche in college basketball, but it aptly describes what Kane brings to the Cyclones — just look at how he stuffed the stat sheet this afternoon.

The country knew about Kane’s ability and what he’d bring to the Cyclones, but there were other unknowns for Iowa State heading into the season, particularly perimeter scoring.

Naz Long averaged just 1.4 points in 6.9 minutes last season, and has taken advantage of increased playing time right out of the gate due to Melvin Ejim’s injured right knee that he hyper-extended a week before the season. Long’s eight threes matched the number of field goals he totaled last season, and were two off the record set by Lucca Staiger in 2009. If Long can replicate the role that Chris Babb had last season for Iowa State, that bodes well for Hoibeg and shores up the void left on the perimeter.

Granted, the offensive success and big games by Kane, Long, and the other three starters (Georges Niang, Dustin Hogue, and Matt Thomas) who finished in double figures comes against a UNC Wilmington team that finished 10-20 last year and don’t figure to be strong this season. Iowa State’s first major test comes next Sunday home against Michigan.